SIGGRAPH 2014 Announce Computer Animation Festival Winners

Jerome Solomon

SIGGRAPH 2014 is pleased to announce the 41st annual Computer Animation Festival award recipients for Best in Show, Jury Award, Best Student Project, Best Animated Short, and Best Visual Effects, among others. More than 100 pieces will be shown during the Computer Animation Festival at the Vancouver Convention Centre, 10-14 August. The 2014 nominees were chosen by an expert panel of jury members from more than 450 submissions.

“Each piece that is in the Festival is truly something special on its own merit,” said Jerome Solomon, SIGGRAPH 2014 Computer Animation Festival Director from Cogswell College. “There's no other stage in the world comparable to SIGGRAPH’s Computer Animation Festival and this year we have added more categories which only enriches the diversity and richness of the show."

The Computer Animation Festival is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a "Best Animated Short" Academy Award. This year’s selections will be featured during the Computer Animation Festival through a series of Daytime Selects and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to glimpse behind the magic of computer-generated effects, visualizations, and animations.

To view the Computer Animation Festival preview video, click here.

BEST IN SHOW

Box (United States)
Directed by Tarik Abdel-Gawad, Bot & Dolly

“Box” explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces. The short film documents a first-ever live synchronized performance using 3D projection mapping, robots, and actors.

JURY AWARD

Paper World (Hungary)

Directed by Dávid Ringeisen, László Ruska, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design

“Paper World” is an image film for the World Wildlife Fund Hungary where the values that WWF stands for become visible metaphorically on the level of a micro-world.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Home Sweet Home (France)

Directed by Pierre Clenet, Alejandro Diaz, Romain Mazenet, Stéphane Paccolat, Supinfocom Arles

A house uproots herself and goes on an adventure.

BEST STUDENT PROJECT

Wrapped (Germany)

Directed by Roman Kalin, Falko Paeper, Florian Wittmann, Filmakademie Baden-Wüerttemberg

The deterioration of one is the foundation of another one's life. The world, with its never-ending interplay of eating and being eaten, takes on new dimensions when the unexpected forces of nature clash with the existing structures of our society. The only constant is change.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity (United Kingdom)

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Esperanto Filmoj
VFX work submitted by Framestore, United Kingdom

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Framestore

“Gravity,” this year’s VFX Bafta and Oscar-winner, turns filmmaking on its head. Rather than adding visual effects to a live-action plate, the film is around 80% computer generated, with the live-action elements (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney’s faces), integrated seamlessly with their CG spacesuits and surroundings.

BEST VISUALIZATION & SIMULATION

Kinematics (United States)

Directed by Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Nervous System

This video visualizes Kinematics, a system for designing and simulating flexible structures for 3D printing. Kinematics generates customized designs composed of 10s to thousands of hinged, interlocking modules. The designs are computationally folded using rigid-body physics into a smaller form for fabrication by 3D printing.

BEST GAME

The Crew (France)

Directed by Maxime Luère, Dominique Boidin, Rémi Kozyra, Unit Image

The concept of this full-CGI trailer consists of juxtaposing the two worlds valued highly by car lovers: aesthetically pleasing advertisements and action scenes. The features of the game, such as the novelty of the multiplayer aspect and the feeling of freedom in an open world, are highlighted through this concept.

BEST REAL-TIME GRAPHICS

RYSE: Son of Rome (Germany)                                                                                           Directed by Chris Evans, Peter Gornstein, Martin L'Heureux, Crytek

With Ryse, Crytek decided to focus on characters and emotion to serve the game and story. Ryse is an eight hour game with an additional 110-minutes of linear storytelling content. The submission shows gameplay and cutscenes, both utilize the same assets and can be rendered in real-time.

BEST COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT

Three, "The Pony" (United Kingdom)

Directed by Dougal Wilson, Blink Productions
VFX work submitted by MPC

The pony’s bouncy moves were created using a photo-real CG digital double and extensive R&D to translate human movement to a horse. The film cuts seamlessly between CG and real-life footage. Fur was created using MPC's Furtility tool, and environments were altered using compositing and matte painting.

SIGGRAPH 2014 images are available to authorized news media representatives. To request access, please contact the SIGGRAPH 2014 Media Office at media@siggraph.org. For full details, visit s2014.siggraph.org.

European Directors Win Majority of SIGGRAPH 2013 Computer Animation Festival Honors

SIGGRAPH 2013, 21-25 July at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, announces the Computer Animation Festival's Best in Show, Jury Award, Best Student Project, and Best Student Project Runners-Up recipients.  A total of 104 pieces will be shown during the Computer Animation Festival. Nominees were chosen by an expert panel of jury members from more than 500 submissions. The fact that a majority of the winners were from outside the United States is just another indication of how much it has evolved into an international event.

Jason R.M. Smith

“Every piece in the festival has something that made it stand out from the 40 hours of content submitted for this year’s show,” says Jason RM Smith, SIGGRAPH 2013 Computer Animation Festival Chair. “There's no other venue in the world comparable to the Computer Animation Festival; each year we're honored by the amazing number of high-quality entries and every year the show grows. This year we're screening 10% more content; as the quality continues to improve it becomes increasingly difficult to select the best of the best."

The Computer Animation Festival, celebrating its 40th year, is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a "Best Animated Short" Academy Award. This year’s selections will be featured during the Computer Animation Festival through a series of daily Festival Screenings and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to get a glimpse behind the making of computer-generated effects, visualizations, and animations.

BEST IN SHOW AWARD
À la Française
Directed by Morrigane Boyer, Julien Hazebroucq, Ren Hsien Hsu, Emmanuelle Leleu, and William Lorton, France

Click on image to enlarge.

 It's an afternoon in Versailles, during the reign of Louis XIV.

JURY AWARD
Lost Senses
Directed by Marcin Wasilewski, Poland

Click on image to enlarge.

A short story about an encounter in an abstract world, stylized as the paintings of Giorgio De Chrico. A Man is going to meet A Woman in abstract flying city. He is climbing up on the buildings like a parkour practitioner. One unguarded moment is enough to make him lose his senses. And his chance.

BEST STUDENT PROJECT
Rollin' Safari
Directed by Kyra Buschor, Anna Habermehl, and Constantin Paeplow, Germany

Click on image to enlarge.

The balloon animals of the Serengeti are struggling to follow their daily routine.

BEST STUDENT PROJECT RUNNERS-UP
Sleddin'
Directed by John Pettingill, Texas A&M University, United States of America

Click on image to enlarge.

This metaphor for experiences that are larger than life explores the phenomenal childhood moments that are ultimately dependent on one's own perspective.

Harald
Directed by Moritz Schneider, Germany
                                       

Click on image to enlarge.

Harald is a wrestler. Driven by his ambitious mother, he wins a vast number of challenge cups. But his true love is flowers. When his mother takes away his favorite flower, he has to fight for it.

Editor's note: SIGGRAPH 2013 images are available to authorized news media representatives. To request access, please contact the SIGGRAPH 2013 Media Office via e-mail at media@siggraph.org